Jarro-dophilus EPS Probiotic Contains Gluten

[cyclinglady]

I belong to Gluten Free Watch Dog, which is like a mini Consumer Reports (an independent group that tests products and I belong to both).    Believe me, this is worth the $5.00 per month or so subscription and I highly recommend supporting their efforts in keeping celiacs safe.    What?  Pay for it?  Come on....how many of you subscribe to magazines without a thought?

Here's some information I borrowed  from their  "About" section of the Gluten Free Watch Dog website:

"Gluten Free Watchdog, LLC was founded by Open Original Shared Link to make state-of-the-art gluten-free food testing data available directly to you, the consumer. Unfortunately, the Food and Drug Administration under the gluten-free labeling rule is NOT requiring manufacturers to test their labeled gluten-free foods for gluten contamination.

Contamination of naturally gluten-free grains and flours with wheat, barley, and rye is a concern to many people who must eat gluten-free. In a study conducted by Tricia Thompson, Anne Lee, and Thomas Grace, 32% of the naturally gluten-free grains and flours tested contained gluten in amounts greater than 20 parts per million. Gluten contamination can occur in the fields where food is grown, in the trucks and railcars where food is transported, and in the processing and manufacturing plants where food is made ready for the consumer. It is our hope that independently testing labeled gluten-free products and making results available to subscribers will allow you to feel more confident in the products you buy.

Gluten Free Watchdog, LLC tests labeled gluten-free foods. In June 2013 Gluten Free Watchdog also started testing products that appear to be free of gluten-containing ingredients but are not labeled gluten-free. All product test results are posted, regardless of findings. See the FAQ page for information on testing protocols. For more informaton please see Open Original Shared Link.

 Going back to my topic, Tricia recently tested this probiotic. Jarro-Dophilus EPS and found that it contained gluten despite the label stating that it contains "No gluten" and has a little gluten free logo.  It is recommended that celiacs not use this product at this time.  

You will recall celiac doctors at the Columbia University Medical Center were perplexed as to why celiac patients who were strictly gluten free were not healing.  They found that 55% of the probiotics they tested contained traces of gluten!  

Open Original Shared Link

So, 1) I encourage you to support Gluten Free WatchDog and 2) be wary of supplements and make sure they are gluten free and they really contain the ingredients they state on the label.  It is a shame that food manufacturers like Kraft and ConAgra seem to do a better job than supplement manufacturers.  

Disclaimer:  This is in no way affiliated with celiac.com and is based on  my own personal opinion and insight.